There are many types of leafy plants that can be ingested by humans. Many of these herbs and plants are eaten as seasonings, or in the case of tobacco, may be ingested by smoking. Typically, when an herb, leaf, or other vegetative material is utilized as a seasoning or is smoked, the herb must first be dried and then ground to small sized particles.
There are many methods of grinding a dried herb. Before the advent of mechanical devices a dried herb was simply crushed in a person's hand. Though partially effective, the hand method was time consuming, unclean and was unable to provide consistency in the size of the ground particles.
Mechanical devices, both powered and not powered, are effective for grinding a dried herb or leaf. Unfortunately, many mechanical devices are dimensioned for use in a kitchen or other stationary environment. In order to use a mechanical grinding device, the dried herbs and leaves must be brought to where the device is located. For many applications this approach is impractical. For example, many smokers prefer to use fresh, recently-ground tobacco in their pipes or rolled into cigarettes.
Today, the most widely used portable herb grinder design is one with at least two chambers, a top cap, and a bottom cap. The top half of the first chamber is formed by the top cap. A plurality of grinding knives protrudes from the top cap into the volume of the first chamber. The bottom half of the first chamber also has a plurality of grinding knives and several apertures that lead into the second chamber. The bottom half of the second chamber is formed by the bottom cap of the grinder. Optionally, the second chamber can have a screen that leads into an optional third chamber for isolating the smallest particles, in which case the bottom half of the third chamber forms the bottom of the grinder.
A dried herb or leaf is placed inside the first chamber. The top cap is then rotated relative to the rest of the grinder allowing the grinding knives to cut the herb into smaller pieces. The smaller herb pieces are then passed through the apertures into the second chamber, and optionally through the screen into the third chamber if present. The pieces of ground, shredded or comminuted herb in the second chamber can then be returned to the first chamber for further grinding. The ground herb in the second or third chamber is collected in the bottom cap, which can removed by the user when ready to consume it.
There are, however, disadvantages of today's popular grinders. First, for users with arthritis or similar physical ailments that hinder their grip strength, conventional portable grinders can be very difficult to operate, as a significant amount of force is often needed to grind various amounts and kinds of leaves and vegetative material. Second, electrically powered grinders often lack portability, which is a disadvantage to users who wish to be able to grind fresh herbs or tobacco in locations where access to electrical outlets may be unavailable or inconvenient. Further, conventional powered appliances can be bulky and heavy, and inconvenient to carry on one's person. Even if an electric grinder is powered by rechargeable batteries, a user may forget to charge the grinder, or may drain any on-board battery supply through prolonged use.
Accordingly, there is an obvious need for a portable, rechargeable herb grinder that is capable of being operated both manually and under assisted power.
An additional advantageous feature of a portable herb grinder would be to include a means of storing the herb or vegetative material before or after grinding in a container that is integral with the grinder. In this manner, a person could transport material to be ground, grind dried herbs or leaves at any time and any place, and then store and carry a quantity of the recently ground leaves for future use.